and he said, Brian, don't you dare. Amongst all the mystery religions, Eleusis survives. So Pompeii and its environs at the time were called [SPEAKING GREEK], which means great Greece. But unfortunately, it doesn't connect it to Christianity. First, I will provide definitions for the terms "pagan", "Christian", 474, ?] There's all kinds of reasons I haven't done it. The phrasing used in the book and by others is "the pagan continuity hypothesis". That would require an entirely different kind of evidence. Maybe there's some residual fear that's been built up in me. Thank you. In this episode, Brian C. Muraresku, who holds a degree from Brown University in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit,  joins Breht to discuss his fascinating book "The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name", a groundbreaking dive into the use of hallucinogens in ancient Greece, the Pagan Continuity Hypothesis, the role of the Eucharist in early Christianity, the . And the quote you just read from Burkert, it's published by Harvard University Press in 1985 as Greek Religion. And part of me really wants to put all these pieces together before I dive in. It was-- Eleusis was state-administered, a somewhat formal affair. But we at least have, again, the indicia of evidence that something was happening there. What about Jesus as a Jew? What does that have to do with Christianity? And so that's what motivated my search here. What, if any, was the relationship between this Greek sanctuary-- a very Greek sanctuary, by the way-- in Catalonia, to the mysteries of Eleusis? But I'm pressing you because that's my job. And so I do see an avenue, like I kind of obliquely mentioned, but I do think there's an avenue within organized religion and for people who dedicate their lives as religious professionals to ministry to perhaps take a look at this in places where it might work. So if Eleusis is the Fight Club of the ancient world, right, the first rule is you don't talk about it. So Plato, Pindar, Sophocles, all the way into Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, it's an important thing. He has talked about the potential evidence for psychedelics in a Mithras liturgy. And so the big hunt for me was trying to find some of those psychedelic bits. Now, Mithras is another one of these mystery religions. And I think that's an important distinction to make. We have plays like the Bacchi from Euripides, where we can piece together some of this. But it survives. So somewhere between 1% and 49%. CHARLES STANG: So it may be worth mentioning, for those who are attending who haven't read the book, that you asked, who I can't remember her name, the woman who is in charge of the Eleusis site, whether some of the ritual vessels could be tested, only to discover-- tested for the remains of whatever they held, only to learn that those vessels had been cleaned and that no more vessels were going to be unearthed. But I realized that in 1977, when he wrote that in German, this was the height of scholarship, at least going out on a limb to speculate about the prospect of psychedelics at the very heart of the Greek mysteries, which I refer to as something like the real religion of the ancient Greeks, by the way, in speaking about the Eleusinian mysteries. When Irenaeus is talking about [SPEAKING GREEK], love potions, again, we have no idea what the hell he's talking about. So why do you think psychedelics are so significant that they might usher in a new Reformation? Rachel Peterson, who's well known to Brian and who's taken a lead in designing the series. The Continuity Hypothesis was put forward by John Bowlby (1953) as a critical effect of attachments in his development of Attachment Theory. Now I want to get to the questions, but one last question before we move to the discussion portion. I mean, what-- my big question is, what can we say about the Eucharist-- and maybe it's just my weird lens, but what can we say about it definitively in the absence of the archaeochemstry or the archaeobotany? CHARLES STANG: All right. . And I, for one, look forward to a time when I can see him in person for a beer, ergotized beer or not, if he ever leaves Uruguay. Part 1 Brian C. Muraresku: The Eleusinian Mysteries, Discovering the Divine, The Immortality Key, The Pagan Continuity Hypothesis and the Hallucinogenic Origins of Religion 3 days ago Plants of the Gods: S4E1. Now the archaeologist of that site says-- I'm quoting from your book-- "For me, the Villa Vesuvio was a small farm that was specifically designed for the production of drugs." And I want to ask you about specifically the Eleusinian mysteries, centered around the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. What does it mean to die before dying? It's really quite simple, Charlie. We still have almost 700 with us. I mean, I think the book makes it clear. And for those of you who have found my line of questioning or just my general presence tedious, first of all, I fully appreciate that reaction. And I think there are lots of reasons to believe that. BRIAN MURARESKU: We can dip from both pies, Dr. Stang. BRIAN MURARESKU: That's a good question. There's some suggestive language in the pyramid texts, in the Book of the Dead and things of this nature. I mean, if Burkert was happy to speculate about psychedelics, I'm not sure why Ruck got the reception that he did in 1978 with their book The Road to Eleusis. Mark and Brian cover the Eleusinian Mysteries, the pagan continuity hypothesis, early Christianity, lessons from famed religious scholar Karen Armstrong, overlooked aspects of influential philosopher William James's career, ancient wine and ancient beer, experiencing the divine within us, the importance of "tikkun olam"repairing and improving BRIAN MURARESKU: Now we're cooking with grease, Dr. Stang. I mean, so it was Greek. What about all these early Christians themselves as essentially Jews? [1] According to this theory, older adults try to maintain this continuity of lifestyle by adapting strategies that are connected to their past experiences. So there's a whole slew of sites I want to test there. When you start testing, you find things. Dogs, indicative of the Greek goddess Hecate, who, amongst other things was known as the [GREEK], the dog eater. Now, I've never done them myself, but I have talked to many, many people who've had experience with psychedelics. And I'm trying to reconcile that. In my previous posts on the continuity hypothesis . But things that sound intensely powerful. And not least because if I were to do it, I'd like to do so in a deeply sacred ritual. To assess this hypothesis and, perhaps, to push it further, has required years of dogged and, at times, discouraging works in archives and archaeology. Those religions featured psychedelic beer and ceremonies lead by women . The whole reason I went down this rabbit hole is because they were the ones who brought this to my attention through the generosity of a scholarship to this prep school in Philadelphia to study these kinds of mysteries. Before I set forth the outline of this thesis, three topics must be discussed in order to establish a basic understanding of the religious terminology, Constantine's reign, and the contemporary sources. And I wonder whether the former narrative serves the interests of the latter. So thank you, all who have hung with us. Now, it doesn't have to be the Holy Grail that was there at the Last Supper, but when you think about the sacrament of wine that is at the center of the world's biggest religion of 2.5 billion people, the thing that Pope Francis says is essential for salvation, I mean, how can we orient our lives around something for which there is little to no physical data? These sources suggest a much greater degree of continuity with pre-Christian values and practice than the writings of more . I imagine there are many more potion makers around than we typically recognize. I mean, I wish it were easier. To some degree, I think you're looking back to southern Italy from the perspective of the supremacy of Rome, which is not the case in the first century. That to live on forever and ever, to live an everlasting life is not immortality. Again, if you're attracted to psychedelics, it's kind of an extreme thing, right? You know, it's an atheist using theological language to describe what happened to her. Brought to you by Wealthfront high-yield savings account, Peloton Row premium rower for an efficient workout, and You Need A Budget cult-favorite money management app.. Rick Rubin is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, and the most successful producer in any genre, according to Rolling Stone. 7:30 The three pillars to the work: the Eucharist as a continuation of the pharmako and Dionysian mysteries; the Pagan continuity theory; and the idea that through the mysteries "We can die before we die so that when we die we do not die" 13:00 What does "blood of Christ" actually mean; the implied and literal cannibalism And I asked her openly if we could test some of the many, many containers that they have, some on display, and many more in repository there. And does it line up with the promise from John's gospel that anyone who drinks this becomes instantly immortal? And this is what I present to the world. Is taking all these disciplines, whether it's your discipline or archaeochemistry or hard core botany, biology, even psychopharmacology, putting it all together and taking a look at this mystery, this puzzle, using the lens of psychedelics as a lens, really, to investigate not just the past but the future and the mystery of human consciousness. CHARLES STANG: OK, great. What's different about the Dionysian mysteries, and what evidence, direct or indirect, do we have about the wine of Dionysus being psychedelic? Thank you. What's significant about these features for our piecing together the ancient religion with no name? And Hofmann famously discovers-- or synthesizes LSD from ergot in 1938. And what you're referring to is-- and how I begin the book is this beautiful Greek phrase, [SPEAKING GREEK]. And they found this site, along with others around the Mediterranean. BRIAN MURARESKU: I look forward to it, Charlie. Not much. Brian has been very busy taking his new book on the road, of course, all online, and we're very grateful to him for taking the time to join us this evening. Research inside the Church of Saint Faustina and Liberata Fig 1. So I point to that evidence as illustrative of the possibility that the Christians could, in fact, have gotten their hands on an actual wine. There he is. And I did not dare. We have other textual evidence. And that's all I present it as, is wonderfully attractive and maybe even sexy circumstantial evidence for the potential use of a psychedelic sacrament amongst the earliest Christians. I mean, so Walter Burkert was part of the reason that kept me going on. And shouldn't we all be asking that question? These-- that-- Christians are spread out throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and there are many, many pockets of people practicing what we might call, let's just call it Christian mysticism of some kind. According to Muraresku, this work, BOOK REVIEW which "presents the pagan continuity hypothesis with a psychedelic twist," addresses two fundamental questions: "Before the rise of Christianity, did the Ancient Greeks consume a secret psychedelic sacrament during their most famous and well-attended religious rituals? And so I cite a Pew poll, for example, that says something like 69% of American Catholics do not believe in transubstantiation, which is the defining dogma of the church, the idea that the bread and wine literally becomes the flesh and blood. One attendee has asked, "How have religious leaders reacted so far to your book? The Tim Ferriss Show. And all along, I invite you all to pose questions to Brian in the Q&A function. I think it's important you have made a distinction between what was Jesus doing at the Last Supper, as if we could ever find out. And I offer psychedelics as one of those archaic techniques of ecstasy that seems to have been relevant and meaningful to our ancestors. I write it cognizant of the fact that the Eucharist doesn't work for many, many people. Where you find the grain, you may have found ergot. And I write, at the very end of the book, I hope that they'd be proud of this investigation. 1,672. "The Jews" are not after Ye. That's one narrative that I feel is a little sensational. Administration and supervision endeavors and with strong knowledge in: Online teaching and learning methods, Methods for Teaching Mathematics and Technology Integration for K-12 and College . Now, I think you answered that last part. That's how we get to Catalonia. He's talking about kind of psychedelic wine. It's something that goes from Homer all the way until the fall of the Roman Empire, over the course of well more than 1,000 years. Many people see that as symbolic or allegorical or just a nice thing, which is not the case. BRIAN MURARESKU: Right. That's staying within the field of time. So after the whole first half of the book-- well, wait a minute, Dr. Stang. The book was published by Saint Martin's Press in September 2020 and has generated a whirlwind of attention. That's our next event, and will be at least two more events to follow. There is evidence that has been either overlooked or perhaps intentionally suppressed. And much of the evidence that you've collected is kind of the northern half of the Mediterranean world. And that's what I get into in detail in the book. They are guaranteed an afterlife. Perhaps more generally, you could just talk about other traditions around the Mediterranean, North African, or, let's even say Judaism. And please just call me Charlie. So I really follow the scholarship of Enriqueta Pons, who is the archaeologist on site there, at this Greek sanctuary that we're talking about in Catalonia, Mas Castellar des Pontos. I am excited . So that's something else to look into. So what I think we have here in this ergtotized beer drink from Catalonia, Spain, and in this weird witch's brew from 79 AD in Pompeii, I describe it, until I see evidence otherwise, as some of the very first heart scientific data for the actual existence of actual spiked wine in classical antiquity, which I think is a really big point. BRIAN MURARESKU:: It's a simple formula, Charlie. What the Greeks were actually saying there is that it was barley infected with ergot, which is this natural fungus that infects cereal crops. BRIAN MURARESKU: Right. So I'll speak in language that you and our good colleague Greg [? To become truly immortal, Campbell talks about entering into a sense of eternity, which is the infinite present here and now. CHARLES STANG: We've really read Jesus through the lens of his Greek inheritors. You mentioned, too, early churchmen, experts in heresies by the name of Irenaeus of Lyons and Hippolytus of Rome. And I think that that's the real question here. With more than 35 years of experience in the field of Education dedicated to help students, teachers and administrators in both public and private institutions at school, undergraduate and graduate level. There's also this hard evidence that comes out of an archaeological site outside of Pompeii, if I have it correct. But in any case, Ruck had his career, well, savaged, in some sense, by the reaction to his daring to take this hypothesis seriously, this question seriously. So I spent 12 years looking for that data, eventually found it, of all places, in Catalonia in Spain in this 635-page monograph that was published in 2002 and for one reason or another-- probably because it was written in Catalan-- was not widely reported to the academic community and went largely ignored.